Cornwall Island Plebiscite Planned Following Meeting

AKWESASNE – Tensions on Cornwall Island (Kawehnoke) remain high after a hearing in the city of Cornwall resulted in a judge ruling on the fate of several empty buildings on the Kanienkehaka island.

Social activists Beverly Pyke, Stacey Boots, Larry Thompson and Lloyd Benedict sat in on the March 27th settlement conference meeting, many as defendants, as did as representatives of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne (MCA).

The headlines coming out of the meeting stated that a MCA plebiscite would help to decide the fate of the unoccupied buildings. The decision also aborted a preliminary deal between the Federal Bridge Corporation (FBC), which administers the international bridgeworks between Massena, New York and Cornwall, Ontario, and the seven defendants. That deal saw the buildings erected by the Akwesasne People’s Fire (APF) being demolished by the people who erected them, in exchange for trespassing charges lodged against them being dismissed. That agreement now remains in limbo while the MCA prepares for a membership vote on the fate of the APF buildings as well as the Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) outpost which was abandoned during the summer of 2009 when federal staff walked off the job over threats related to staff weapons at the border inspection area.

Ms. Pyke, a defendant in the case, remained adamant that her community efforts in 2009 were done with wider intentions in mind and were not just trespassing on government property. She stood firm in her position with the other individual defendants following the hearing. “These are life and death choices the people made here. We will not be intimidated by government to government agreements. We know what we are fighting for on behalf of the people of Akwesasne,” said Pyke, in reference to the announced plebiscite.

According to Pyke, the defendants in the case proposed to address the state of the buildings over a year ago, which have been condemned by the MCA as uninhabitable. A local business could have performed the labor at that time, avoiding this recent ruling, but the MCA did not support the suggestion. “Many local people need this kind of work to get by. It is a very poor economy that they are dealing with. The construction trades can build and also do this sort of demolition,” said the community activist. “I think that the plebiscite will force people on the fence to agree that the decision is not one for the MCA to make or influence. It is a decision for the people themselves to support,” added Pyke.

Local media commentary supports the decision to involve the MCA membership in a vote, which was estimated at over 12,000. The sentiment exists that a court settlement can be put off a little while longer while the voters from Akwesasne are heard on this subject. Individual actions have propelled the entire legal arc of this storyline. From the group of activists that surrounded the CBSA building the night that it was abandoned to the builders of the APF buildings to the recent ill-fated arrest of Stacey Boots as he planned to re-occupy the empty CBSA structure, the emotion of the past several years on Cornwall Island has come down to the outcome of the ballot box. The decision was supported in the city of Cornwall.

The decision was not supported by the defendants. “MCA did not want the buildings torn down for political reasons. That is why the negotiated settlement was torn up. Jennifer Francis of Justice Canada, who represented the FBC, acknowledged there was a tentative settlement regarding the buildings. “My clients wish to have the two protest buildings in the international corridor removed,” she said. “Today the CBSA building is no longer in use and the two buildings were put up in protest against CBSA who have now moved to Cornwall,” Francis stated. MCA lawyer Nathan Richards expressed a different view of the disagreement, according to published reports.

“There is a political struggle right now between MCA and Akwesasne People’s Fire (which the protesters belonged to)” the MCA representative stated. “It’s not as simple as just knocking down the buildings.”

Richards said that first the MCA would hold a public meeting to discuss the issues and then hold a plebiscite on the issue. Two questions will be asked: ‘Do you agree with the removal of the CBSA building?’ and ‘Do you agree with the removal of the People’s Fire buildings after the CBSA buildings come down?’

Justice Paul Lalonde adjourned the meeting until June 16, 2014 following his ruling.

Kanienkehaka news analyst John Kane commented on the decision afterwards. “If a “judge” says the people can decide what to do on their own lands, then it must be true. It sure is a good thing we have these judges telling us who we are and what we can do (on our own land),” said the outspoken commentator. Kane said his sarcasm was a testament to the mistaken belief that mainstream legal systems trump sovereign expression and action.

“We never gave anything up, to them, their laws or the ability to decide for ourselves. It never happened,” stated Kane. Many eyes will be on the plebiscite, that is for sure.

Related Posts